The Only Checklist You'll Need for a Real ATL Summer

Summer in Atlanta is very much like a grocery store. You go in with good intentions and something of a plan to get what you need out of it, but you end up settling for beer and ice cream, which is actually fine by us. Seriously, it’s included below, along with a couple dozen other extremely ATL things you’ve gotta do while the sun’s still shining hot and bright in our fair town. Bookmark this list along with the calendar of events you can’t miss in ATL this summer, and come back whenever you need a little extra guidance.

NFL preseason starts August 26 with the Falcons playing Arizona, Alabama plays Florida State to open college football season, and of course Atlanta United also calls our new retractable-roofed sports megaplex home.

Crash someone’s boat on Lake Lanier

Not literally. Like in the way a group of UGA grads might already be three sheets windy and willing to welcome strangers aboard their fancy boats. I promise someone will let you float with them if you bring a six-pack offering.

There’s one born every minute in the capital of the South. We love to eat new things. Just ask somebody and you’ll find a new restaurant probably within a mile of where you are.

Go somewhere without your car

There are options, and you’ll need them in case the highway collapses again. MARTA is always smarta, the walkable Atlanta BeltLine puts you a few paces from lots of bars, there’s a huge cycling community always peddling around somewhere (try the Velodrome in East Point), and if you’re really crazy you can even ride the Atlanta Streetcar to say you did it.

Get fitted for some fresh Southern apparel

Grab a custom shirt at Alton Lane or Commonwealth Proper (they also give you free bourbon and beer), buy some shorts at Onward Reserve, go extra fancy at Miller Brothers, or have Sid Mashburn, ATL’s king of style, hook you up with a whole wardrobe and a dope turntable for your vinyl record collection.

Take a Y’allywood tour

ALL the movies are shot in ATL now. Atlanta Movie Tours will show you sites where The Walking Dead is filmed, along with famous scenes from a gang of other films (Captain America: Civil War, Stranger Things, The Hunger Games, The Walking Dead, The Fast and the Furious, etc.).

Ponce City Market is great! But Eats was here first, and it’s cheap as hell, and you’ll feel good knowing you’re supporting places that are facing rising rents due to the higher cost of doing business on Ponce these days. 8ARM is also amazing and affordable. And hey! You can always cross the street if the PCM call is too strong! Or just, you know... hit The Clermont Lounge. Don’t eat there though.

There was never a soccer field at a public train station until Atlanta did it this year. Go to Five Points MARTA station and check it out.

Find DJ Kemit and dance

ATL has awesome DJs, but Kemit rules the nightlife. Whether he’s at Music Room, randomly at MJQ, holding down The Sound Table or anywhere else with a booth and dance floor, just open your ears and listen for some jammin’ dance music -- you’ll find him.

related

Fly far, far away

One of the best reasons to be in Atlanta is that you can get the hell out of town anytime by plane and be almost wherever you want quickly. Before your flight, stop by Ludacris’ restaurant Chicken + Beer on Concourse D; they’ve got a solid selection of local craft brews, delicious fried bird, solid shrimp and grits, and a crazy strong mint julep.

Sign up here for our daily Atlanta email and be the first to get all the food/drink/fun the ATL has to offer.

Atlanta's Most Terrifying Haunted Houses You Need to Visit This Month

What’s scarier than a haunted house? A haunted trap house, obviously. Yes, this year, in addition to all the rest of the zombie apocalypses, disease outbreaks, redneck murderers, and killer clowns, you must also get over the fear of actually being in “the bando,” which we all rap about but really aren’t built to deal with.

You ain’t scared, you say? Keep that same energy and tell us how well you did after hitting one -- or all -- of the Halloween haunts around ATL in our updated 2018 list of horror houses. Even better, show us the footage of you not screaming and we’ll believe it.

Jason Hoffman/Thrillist

Lifestyle

The Most Haunted Places in Georgia

The South is known for its southern charm, especially in places like Charlotte, New Orleans, and Savannah. The latter was founded in 1733, which means thousands flock to Georgia every year to take in the old buildings, walk the historic streets, and get a little taste of what colonial living might have been like. Underneath all the charm, however, there are stories of murder, tragedy, and mysterious hauntings.

And now that it’s October, a month where people actively seek out the best places in America to terrify themselves for some reason, you’ll have lots of options for places that are setup to give you a quick-but-safe scare. This is not a list of those places; this is a list of actually haunted places around Georgia that might give you a scare you we're never expecting. Good luck! We’re not coming with you.